07/04/2008 - Bronx, NY (Baseball Betting) - Jon Lester threw a complete game gem, while Jacoby Ellsbury and Mike Lowell both drove in two runs, and the Boston Red Sox shut down the New York Yankees, 7-0, in the opener of a four-game set from Yankee Stadium.
Lester (7-3) scattered five hits throughout his time on the mound and struck out eight, while walking only two batters. Jason Varitek and Julio Lugo both had an RBI for the Red Sox, who snapped a five-game skid.
"You're thinking before the game you want to give your team a chance to win," Lester said. "The guys made some plays tonight, it was a great team win, which we needed."
Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera each had two hits for the Yankees, who lost for the fourth time in five games. Andy Pettitte (9-6) took the loss as he was touched for six runs -- five earned -- on nine hits in 4 2/3 innings of work.
"There's a lot of pride here," Johnny Damon said. "There's many media outlets talking about what's wrong with the Yankees. It's embarrassing. We're not playing up to our expectations. We got to do something soon."
The Sox wasted no time in getting on the board. Dustin Pedroia and J.D. Drew were on first and second with one out in the first, before Manny Ramirez grounded into what looked like an inning-ending double play.
Derek Jeter recorded the out at second but botched the throw to first, sailing the ball wide of a stretched out Wilson Betemit, plating Pedroia and moving Ramirez to second. Lowell followed with an RBI single, and Boston held a 2-0 lead.
Boston tacked on two more runs in the second. Coco Crisp singled and Varitek walked before Lugo made it second and third with a sac bunt. Ellsbury then clubbed a two-run double down the first base line to give the Sox a 4-0 cushion.
Crisp led the fourth off with a single, stole second, moved to third as Varitek grounded out and came home on Lugo's sac fly.
Boston made it 6-0 in the fifth inning. Drew belted a one-out double to right, moved to third on Ramirez's single and crossed home as Lowell offered a sac fly.
LaTroy Hawkins was called on in the eighth to replace Dan Giese on the mound for New York. He gave up a one-out single to Kevin Youkilis, walked Crisp and yielded an RBI single to Varitek, and the Sox went ahead 7-0.
Game Notes
Thursday's game was the first meeting between these two bitter rivals in which neither club is in first place in the AL East after July 1 since September of 1997...Pedroia extended his hit streak to 11 games...Lester's season-high for strikeouts is nine...Ramirez went 1-for-3, snapping an 0-for-12 streak. Varitek also went 1-for-3, snapping an 0-for-19 slump...The 4 2/3 is the second shortest outing for Pettitte this year, as the lefty lasted just four innings on May 12 against Tampa Bay. Pettitte also was undefeated in eight starts prior to Thursday's setback...Boston owns a 4-2 edge over New York in this year's season series.
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Johnny Cueto (7-8)
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Stamped
American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout
An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.
Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off. Randy was not impressed though. Paula thought he started off fantastic. "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either.
Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed. Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact. He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition.
Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula. Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.
Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next. Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential. Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell. He sang "Careless Whisper".
22 year old Chris Richardson was up next. He was listed with +1100 odds coming in. He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great.
Nick was boring and pitchy. Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week. Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition.
Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds . These of course were the early odds. He was considered original for picking an "odd song". He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night.
Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good.
Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds. Great voice and a great sense of humor. He's a real standout. Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit. Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig".
Jared Cotter followed. He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition. The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good.
22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next. "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon. Though the judges felt he performed okay. Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.
Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition. He was the last to perform. He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start.
Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys. Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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